


Prelude

by meryuukan



Category: A3! (Video Game), Fire Emblem Series
Genre: Alternate Universe - Fantasy, Implied Sexual Content, Light Angst, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-05-23
Updated: 2019-05-23
Packaged: 2020-03-13 04:18:41
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,637
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18933253
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/meryuukan/pseuds/meryuukan
Summary: Prelude of a sage's longing and a knight's duty to the empire.





	Prelude

**Author's Note:**

> Based on my own A3!/Fire Emblem AU I made a while back. Just for a heads up Azuma is a Sage (as in promoted Mage class in usual FE games) but you can still read this fic without knowing anything about the game and read it like the usual fantasy AU. This fic is beta'd by my friend spacethymes. Enjoy!

A distant whine can be heard outside his shabby cottage. Azuma knows exactly who was outside his door this late at night.  
  
He heard a brief thump and footsteps before a knock can be heard from the door. "Azuma? Are you there?" The man quietly whispered to the door. Azuma slowly opened the wooden door.  
  
"Tasuku. Do come in." Azuma replied.  
  
The young general's horse was carefully led to the stable before he stepped in. Even without the usual armor he still stood tall and proud as the young general of Godza Empire.  
  
"I never thought I would visit you again, Azuma." Tasuku said as he looked around at the familiar sight. He didn't know exactly how it happened but he somehow found company in a lone sage living in the borders of the Winter Theocracy, nearing the Empire.  
  
Azuma chuckled at the furrowed brows of the general. Tasuku had always been a serious and stoic man. But inside his house he was not as chivalrous as many had expected of him. "Fufu. You're always welcome here if you need company." Azuma said teasingly. They sat together on the wooden bench, carefully drinking the herbal tea Azuma had prepared upon Tasuku’s arrival.  
  
"Yeah. Things are getting rougher each day in the Empire. I don't think I could sleep well inside their steel fortresses anymore." Tasuku said bluntly.  
  
"Is that so, Tasuku? You're welcome to stay here as long as you like." Azuma said as he continued to sip his tea.  
  
"I don't want to burden you, you know. We had just met for a while. I don't want to accidentally knock some pans or something." Tasuku gazed briefly at the sage’s kitchen, filled with pots and pans hanging on the cabinets above.    
  
Azuma chuckle turned into a full laugh. He sure was in the mood for some lighthearted remarks. Often times the general would endlessly complain about the unsavory things he experienced in the empire, or about another Godza general who was too annoying for him to handle.  
  
"The way you clumsily kissed me and fumbled over my robes a few nights ago, I could say you're one clumsy fellow." His index finger teasingly touched the younger man's nose, causing the man to sigh again.  
  
"I thought so. So, I wanted some company tonight. Will this suffice?" He brought a small sack of gold and several herbs he had requested during their last meeting.  
  
"Sure. I'll lead you to the bed like the usual." Soft hands gently lead the rough, calloused hands to his bedchambers.  
  
They laid in the bed together, looking towards each other before talking about basically anything. They decided not to do anything indecent tonight and instead slept peacefully side by side.  
  
Azuma welcomed so many guests to his bed for company, but he was truly honored to have Tasuku beside him. This man had sparked something inside him, and it has eased his constant nightmares of the night before the fall of his noble house.

 

Twenty five years later no one would remember his house name except for esteemed nobles, who immediately erased its existence when they found that no living survivors were found after the fire. It was for his best, he thought. He decided to live as a wandering healer and sage after resigning from Snowbound Monastery and eventually settling in the humble shack covered in almost year-long snow. He didn't mind the cold, after all he trained in the arts of ice magic, unique to House Camellia. But sometimes there were nights when he felt like he didn't quite belong to this world. Nights where he wanted to forget that he was alone in the world. Years have passed and he took several people in as companions, trying his best to fill the aching void. But such things were never enough. They would never be, he found. By the time the sun had risen from the horizon he always feared that he would be alone again, leaving only traces of warmth on his sheets. He told all of this to the man sleeping soundly next to him.

Azuma admitted it was because of one particular night, when the very strong ale he brought pushed him to spill words as he allowed tears to flow after all these years, crying without none. The younger man slowly listened to his increasingly heavy monologue, carefully sipping the ale the sage had prepared. Both of them are quite capable of handling their drink, yet he himself felt guilty of throwing him his 25 year long burden. But Tasuku only said one thing after he had ran out of words to say and cried silently instead.  
  
"Let's go to the bed, shall we?"  
  
For the first time ever, the taller man carried him with his hand beneath his neck and the other beneath his knees. Tasuku carried him slowly, like delicate porcelain that would break in seconds. Azuma would, if he cried just one more hour before his entire being broke apart from sorrow. He took ahold of the man's robes like it was his own lifeline.  
  
Tasuku laid his still shaking body to the bed, and gently laid himself on the other side of the bed. His hand idly stroked the soft and silky silver locks. He turned to see the still sobbing man.  
  
"It's okay, Azuma. You can cry on my clothes if you want to." Tasuku whispered. He continued to stroke his head before closing their distance until their noses almost touched.  
  
"You're too kind, Tasuku." Azuma said between sobs.  
  
They said nothing afterwards, spending the rest of the night basking in silence. They weren't in the mood for something more intimate since it will ruin the moment and Azuma's mind was still a jumbled mess.

 

The morning came quicker than he realized. Azuma slowly opened his eyes and quickly found that Tasuku was directly in front of him, eyes closed despite of the small shifting sounds he made. Azuma was still in his arms, evolving him in a warm embrace.  
  
"Tasuku, I know you're awake." Azuma said before gently pushed Tasuku's arm and rising to the early sunrise of Winter. Meeting Tasuku had somehow brought less nightmares and more of the beautiful sight of him flexing his muscles as his morning routine. He quite liked it.  
  
"Azuma. Good morning." Tasuku opened his eyes and stretched himself up. Azuma recalled he had another training regime to the new Godza recruits in a few hours.  
  
"Good morning, Tasuku. I'll make you a breakfast if you'd like." Azuma said, before tying up his hair and going to the kitchen.  
  
"Much appreciated, Azuma. I'll be heading to Godza as soon as the sun is up." Tasuku said before following him.  
  
He ended up cooking several eggs and the meat he had bought yesterday to make them a simple breakfast, it was the least he'll do for another night of company. They ate in silence before Tasuku stopped halfway through.  
  
"Azuma. There is something I want to say to you." Tasuku said.  
  
"What is it, Tasuku? Something's been bothering you since yesterday?" Azuma asked. He did realized something was very off during last night, Tasuku never asked for his company for three nights in a row. And paid him with more gold than usual too.  
  
"Right. It was. I’m sorry for not telling you soon." Tasuku sighed. His brows furrowed even more.

"I don't think I'll be visiting you again for the next moon. _Heck_ , I probably would never come back to Godza again." _And to you_ .  
  
Azuma dropped his utensils to the plate, looking at him in confusion.  
  
"Tasuku, are you sure? Is this not another of your bluffs?" Azuma asked.  
  
"Not a bluff, I'm afraid. Emperor Reni's been pushing even more military advances in the cold war, and soon enough I'll be joining as their general on the front lines." The general explained.

Azuma knew bits of what was currently happening in the Empire from Tasuku’s stories, and he knew the man sitting across him would eventually be defending his land and trading blows in the battlefield. The title ‘The Mighty Piercer of Godza’ wasn’t there for nothing. He heard stories of how he liberated the islands on the east claimed by pirates within a day, quickly rising within the ranks. Tasuku had been one of Godza Empire’s youngest general for a while now, and over time the sage saw the him slowly losing his resolve and faith to the Empire.  
  
Azuma decided to say something quick before the man left for good."I see. Will I ever see you again?" Azuma said. He didn’t like where is this going, but there is no use of holding back the man when the Empire beckoned him to be back.  
  
Tasuku stared at him for a while an lowered his gaze. "I honestly don't know." The sage can tell he was as unsure as he was.  
  
Before leaving, he took the man’s hand, bringing it close to his heart. "I'll pray you'll be safe, Tasuku. I'm sure Godza will end the war as soon as possible." Azuma replied. He quickly let go of the taller man’s hand.  
  
"I'm hoping that's the case." Tasuku said. The general embraced him briefly by the door before heading to the stables to get his horse.    
  
Their goodbyes somehow felt more hollow, as if it raised more uncertainties like 'Will I ever see him again?' or 'Did I say the right thing?'. Azuma felt the familiar feeling of loneliness haunt him again as he waited for the man to return. It took him exactly one week later to received news that General Tasuku of Godza Empire will be leading the battle near Autumn borders. Azuma couldn't do anything except to weep silently and pray to the Frost Deities for his safety.

**Author's Note:**

> I might write up more of this AU in the future so stay tuned!


End file.
